Öland

The fort of Eketorp, on Öland, off Sweden's Baltic coast, has Roman Iron Age (c. AD 300-400), pre-Viking (c. AD 400-700), and Viking-Age/medieval (c. 1000-1300) phases (Borg et al. 1976, 10), but most of the combs come from its final (late 12th- to early 13th-century phase, which unfortunately lacks internal stratigraphy (Borg et al. 1976, 324). Nonetheless, as one might expect, they belong primarily to Types 9, 13, and 14a, though isolated examples of 8a are also represented (Borg 1998, 287-309, 355-7). Type 9 combs include a range of Wiberg's subtypes, but the most striking feature is the dominance of Type 13 combs (131 finds). Forms include relatively rudimentary combs with widely spaced copper-alloy rivets and concave endplates, and a large quantity of finer combs with close-set copper-alloy rivets and biconvex (fishtail) endplates, while straight-ended Type 13 combs (Flodin type D2) are relatively rare. Unfortunately, as the Eketorp combs are poorly stratified, they cannot be used to refine typological dating.